Clinical Psychology

Psychology as a discipline has continued to grow and make significant contributions to the study and understanding of human behaviour. One aspect of psychology that has made momentous contributions to the discipline is clinical psychology. According to the American Psychological Association website, the field of clinical psychology is “a general practice and health service provider specialty in professional psychology.” Therefore, it is the job of the clinical psychologist to ‘assess, diagnose, predict, prevent and treat psychopathology, mental disorders and other individual or group problems to improve behaviour adjustment, adaptation, personal effectiveness and satisfaction.’ With a definition like this, it is no wonder the honours that the field is given as it speaks mainly to abnormal behaviours and mental illnesses, something that psychology in general is notorious for.
Clinical psychology is one of the oldest school of thought in the field of psychology. Its growth has been noted from as early as the end of World War II and its beginning even further back. Clinical psychology was born out of a change in thinking about the motive behind human behaviour. Jean Jacques Rosseau in 1749 put forward the idea that humans’ natural inclination towards good had been corroded by ‘society and civilization’. Furthermore he argued that humans should be guided by their instincts rather than rational thought (Reismann, 1976). The school of thought gave rise to a new line of thinking which gave hope to the field of science that had the task of dealing with baffling illnesses such as mental disorders as it was now believed that these disorders could be diagnosed and treated in isolation. These ideals were believed to be egotistica...

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...ls cope with their daily lives while the social worker is more concerned about the impact of the social context on the individual and their wellbeing (http://www.psychologymatters.asia/article/41/ ).
Clinical psychology has evolved immensely and continues to make strides in the field of psychology. It focuses on assessing, diagnosing and treating individuals so that they can achieve a sense of wellbeing and normalcy. Research and by extension, statistics continues to play a key role in the development of the field, as research leads to extensive knowledge and the pioneering of future studies and information. Though clinical psychology may bear a striking resemblance to that of other mental health professions, it stands apart as a field that is primarily concerned with treating the mental disarray of individuals and studying the treatments that are most effective.